Chapter 365: Executing Justice

At midnight on April 29th, under a dark purple sky devoid of stars and moon, dense moisture enveloped the entire area of Qijia Village, bringing with it the stench of rot and bone-chilling dampness.

Fei Zhenqi kicked open the wooden door of a house, walked in holding a flashlight, lit the candle by the bed, dragged the foul-smelling corpse on the bed to the side, and helped Ning Xu sit down by the bedside.

The two of them had been trapped in Qijia Village for two days and two nights. Endless ghosts appeared and vanished unpredictably, the corpses of men, women, and children piled up between the field ridges, and the fog blocked all paths in and out. Once entered, one could not leave—this place had clearly become a land of death.

Most of the living were dead. There were so many Paper Effigies it seemed impossible to kill them all. Every few steps, a gloomy, eerie well would appear, and the zombies of the dead would leap out unexpectedly.

Ning Xu’s already wounded body gained several new injuries. Her left leg hung limply below her waist; this happened yesterday afternoon while resting in an open area when a dry well suddenly appeared beneath her, and a ghostly hand reached out from the wellhead, its nails severing her tendons.

Her right shoulder was also a bloody mess, and beneath the torn fabric were deep gashes dug out by zombie claws, their edges bruised and blackened, still gushing blood.

Water and electricity were cut off in most houses in Qijia Village. The few bungalows that still had utilities were obviously bait, as they were full of ghosts upon entry. They had nowhere to clean their wounds, which were further contaminated by mud during fighting, showing signs of infection and festering.

Fei Zhenqi looked even more wretched than she did. His jacket was soaked in blood and completely ruined. A hideous bloody gash ran from his chest to his abdomen; a little deeper and it would have disemboweled him.

Three of the five fingers on his left hand were broken and crudely wrapped with cloth strips, resembling a poorly made torch, dripping blood and pus.

He sat down next to Ning Xu and cursed, “Is this damn thing a B-rank anomaly? The B-rank anomalies I’ve handled are sitting nicely in kindergarten. This thing is enough to wipe the floor with half the department! Are those bookworms in the Rating Office asleep?”

Ning Xu shook her head, lowering her eyes with a bitter smile. “The Final Instance is about to begin, and many parts of the Anomaly Game have undergone earth-shattering changes. Even these real-world anomaly incidents are inextricably linked to the Anomaly Game, so there’s no reason they should still be the old standard.”

“Exactly. We really messed up this time. I’ve never been this badly hurt in my life. I estimate that when we go back, both of us will have to apply for injury retirement. We need to make sure those people pay out a lot of compensation and retirement money…”

Fei Zhenqi mumbled as his blood-stained right hand tremblingly reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a cigarette damp with blood. He lit it on the outer flame of the nearby candle, put it in his mouth, and closed his eyes halfway in satisfaction.

“You gotta take a puff or two at a time like this. My old master is determined to fight himself this year; he said he wants to quit smoking. Before, he’d smoke one when his emotions flared up, but now, he just can’t keep his mouth shut.” Fei Zhenqi flicked the ash, and a few sparks landed on the face of the rotting corpse on the floor. “Sister Ning, I told you about him, but don’t go tattling to him when we get back, alright?”

Ning Xu smiled sweetly. “Director Liao is nearing retirement age; quitting smoking is for his health.”

Fei Zhenqi grinned, baring his blood-stained teeth. “Tsk, just saying. He’s the one who got me into smoking. Back then, my village had a haunting, and the old man came over with a big pack. Swoosh, swoosh went two Yellow Talismans, and he took care of everything. Afterward, he lit a cigarette, and I thought, ‘That’s damn cool.'”

“Later, the old man tricked me into joining the Anomaly Investigation Bureau. I followed him around, and whenever he smoked, he’d always hand us each a pack, saying that if we didn’t smoke, we didn’t look like his subordinates…”

Trapped within the Ghost Domain, one wrong move could lead to eternal doom. Neither of them had dared to close their eyes for the previous two nights, and tonight was no different. They were utterly exhausted, and the pain from their wounds was unbearable, so they could only distract themselves with small talk to survive the most dangerous night.

Ning Xu forced a relaxed smile. “That sounds exactly like something Director Liao would do. When I was in college, our dorm building was sealed off due to a haunting—they told everyone it was for renovation. I had left something inside, so without thinking too much, I climbed over the back wall. That’s how I ran into Fu Jue and Director Liao.”

“Coincidentally, the day before, Fu Jue and I had been matched into the same instance, and we worked pretty well together. After handling the anomaly incident that day, I somehow stumbled into the Anomaly Investigation Bureau just like that.”

Fei Zhenqi said, “Heh, I was even more confused back then. I heard it was a civil servant’s iron rice bowl, good benefits, and decent pay, so I joined…”

Ning Xu laughed. “Isn’t that true for everyone?”

She suddenly recalled her first meeting with Fu Jue, which was much earlier than the time she openly spoke of. Back then, Fu Jue wasn’t even called “Fu Jue”… Inside the terrifying instance, the young man, whose eyes were heavy with exhaustion, moved among the looming ghostly shadows, like a ray of dawn in the apocalypse. Even when covered in wounds, he sought the best clearance strategy to save everyone.

He said, “We are all human beings, not numbers that can be casually erased in a data torrent, nor expendable resources manipulated on a chessboard.”

“To live, to breathe, to struggle—these are the innate rights humans should possess. Since I have the ability to help them defend these rights, I should fight with all my strength.”

How brilliant, how noble. He was truly a worthy savior, almost… like a real god.

From the moment she first saw the young man, Ning Xu resolved to follow him, willing to become a handful of dirt on his path to godhood, for he was… the hope most likely to save everyone.

Therefore, upon realizing that her existence would bring trouble to Fu Jue, she felt she could die… Outside, the wind suddenly roared, causing the broken door panels to rattle violently. The candle in the room flickered twice and went out, only to reignite with a faint, greenish glow.

Fei Zhenqi’s expression changed. He drew the short sword from his waist, held it in front of his chest, and stood up to shield Ning Xu.

Ning Xu grabbed a handful of Yellow Talismans and threw them out the window. The flames flared brightly for a moment, and the sound of scorching sizzles was accompanied by piercing screams, exceptionally grating on the ears.

“Wuwuwu… Someone is going to die…”

“Hehehe… Dead, dead…”

Ghostly wails and malicious laughter drifted in one after another. In the thick fog outside the door, figures of various heights vaguely appeared. Upon closer inspection, they were all Paper Effigies covered in makeup!

… Qi Si got out of the taxi without dealing with Liu Pu’s corpse.

The Puppet Master intentionally controlled Liu Pu to come here and then said things that provoked Qi Si to silence him, essentially telling him indirectly that he was surrounded by puppets and that his movements were all under their control.

Qi Si wished to obtain the 【Content Autocrat】 card, meaning he was destined to kill the Puppet Master. The Puppet Master undoubtedly knew this and used threats in the real world to restrain him.

Things had reached a point where reality and illusion, truth and falsehood, were indistinguishable. Perhaps both sides were bluffing, or perhaps one side had only shown the tip of a massive iceberg of power.

But regardless, within the Ghost Domain he personally created, Qi Si would be a true god, the absolute ruler.

He could sense that Qijia Village had unwelcome visitors, old acquaintances from the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, but he had no immediate plans to deal with them.

He had other things to do on this special trip, rather than dealing with two spent humans.

Qi Si entered his own two-story building, sat down in front of the Happy God Statue on the offering table, and softly called out, “Xu Yao, are you there?”

“Yes, I have nowhere else to go but here,” the woman’s light laughter came from behind the Happy God Statue. “Why are you here? Is something the matter?”

Qi Si said, “I returned to Shuangxi Town a while ago and saw the County Magistrate at the bottom of the well. Do you want to go back and see him, or should I bring him out?”

“Never mind. After staying here for so long, I realize I don’t really want to see him anymore.” The woman paused, then changed the subject. “By the way, two flies came the night before last, and they tried to attack me without a word, but unfortunately, they couldn’t beat me.”

“I know.” Qi Si condensed a dark red card between his fingers and lightly tapped it onto the offering table.

On the card face, a noble in an ochre evening gown stands on the terrace of a Gothic castle, a silver mask covering half his face, holding a pure white scepter inlaid with blood-red gems in his left hand, and a pure black raven resting on his right.

The 【Noble】 card symbolizes nobility, elegance, and arrogance; empathy is gradually lost as status rises, elevating and isolating oneself into another species, and gaining authority and submission at this cost.

The woman in a red wedding dress walked out from behind the altar, picked up the card on the table, and examined it repeatedly, lightly licking her lips: “I can feel the residual power within it, enough to make any ghost or monster covet it.”

Qi Si looked up at her and asked, “So, are you interested in binding this Identity Card and entering the Bizarre Game as a player?”

Xu Yao laughed: “Of course. Since you brought it to me, I presume you would make me agree even if I refused. Besides, this card is very beautiful, and I like it very much; I also heard the Bizarre Game is fun, and I’ve wanted to try it for a long time.”

The three subordinate slots for the 【Scarlet High Priest】 card were thus finalized. All that remains is to hand the last 【Scholar】 card to Dong Xiwen before the final instance begins.

Qi Si tilted his head slightly, looking past the large cluster of buildings in the direction of Fei Zhenqi and Ning Xu: “It’s getting late. Shouldn’t we deal with the flies now?”

A pitiful expression formed on Xu Yao’s grayish-blue face: “But I haven’t had enough fun yet… Or maybe you could buy me a new computer? The ones here are too slow.”

…Fei Zhenqi carried Ning Xu on his back, stumbling and running wildly down the muddy country road, a cigarette butt dangling from his mouth.

Countless paper figures chased him from behind, giggling, their blush and lipstick dazzlingly bright. Occasionally, the wind blew a few blood-stained paper coins his way. Their speed was neither fast nor slow, maintaining a distance of exactly five steps, neither advancing nor falling behind, mimicking a cat playing with a mouse.

Earlier, when they were blocked by the paper figures at the door, Ning Xu used up nearly half of her remaining Yellow Talismans, and she and Fei Zhenqi desperately broke out of the encirclement, acquiring new wounds in the process.

She coughed out a mouthful of blood and suddenly smiled: “Brother Fei, there’s something I forgot to tell you. Actually, I never planned on leaving alive before coming here. The higher-ups suspect me, and Chang Xu, whom I’ve taken care of for so many years, got into trouble. I deserve to die…”

She shoved the remaining talismans in her arms into Fei Zhenqi’s hand and tried to roll off his back, but he grabbed her tightly.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Fei Zhenqi spat out the cigarette butt and shouted, “We both have to get out alive! The old man swiped thirteen of my lighters before, and I’m waiting to get them back at his retirement banquet… I have to live, I don’t want those people gossiping, saying I was cowardly and left you behind to save myself. So you better live too, got that!”

He spoke a long passage, running out of breath, coughing several times, and spitting up bloody foam.

The paper figures behind them seemed to have grown tired of playing, closing in much closer. Their sharp, grating “hehe” laughter sounded right next to their ears.

Fei Zhenqi cursed, slashed backward with his dagger, cutting into the body of the nearest paper figure, and caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of a flickering, swaying orange-red light veiled by tree branches not far away.

Through the hazy glow, he could see an antique-style large door. It had no lock, and the door leaf was half-closed, revealing a small slit.

Is it a trap? Or… an exit?

Fei Zhenqi recalled the information from the Bizarre Investigation Bureau: exits from Ghost Domains usually appear as doors, standing isolated and abruptly, often accompanied by bright light.

He rushed toward the light. A paper figure’s hand grabbed his shoulder, but he severed it with a backhand swing without looking.

“Little Sister Ning, hold on a little longer, we’ll be out soon. When we get back to the B.I.B., I’m going to slam the table and curse those brats. Blind grading, isn’t that just setting people up to fail?”

As Fei Zhenqi spoke carelessly, he scattered the Yellow Talismans he held behind him in a line.

A string of sparks generated out of thin air formed a natural chasm, creating a long, narrow, endless defensive line. The paper figures were blocked outside, pacing back and forth. Several figures who attempted to cross the boundary were quickly incinerated and turned to dust.

The blazing fire spread, and everything between heaven and earth seemed to fall silent, leaving only the two heavily wounded humans and the door symbolizing salvation stretched out before them.

The door was hidden in the light, like a phantom of all beautiful imaginings. Fei Zhenqi walked toward the door, like chasing light, like a pilgrimage.

Ning Xu, lying on his back, frowned slightly: “Wait, this door feels very bizarre to me. It might not be the real exit…”

However, it was already too late.

The door rapidly stretched and expanded, instantly tipping forward and engulfing the two of them within its confines.

The scenery on both sides twisted like colorful playdough being flattened and rolled, frantically switching between dark and bright colors.

Fei Zhenqi heard a man and a woman talking. The few words that drifted over were all computer models; they seemed to be discussing which new computer would be better to buy.

He felt certain he had gone mad. How could he hear something like this in a Ghost Domain? Was this a deliberately arranged prank?

Or was he currently trapped in a dream or hallucination, where everything he saw and heard was a figment of his subconscious imagination?

The scene gradually settled, and Fei Zhenqi’s vision returned to clarity. He saw the young man in a white shirt and the woman in a red wedding dress gathered around a desktop computer, browsing a display interface that was recommending various computer models.

He almost thought he hadn’t woken up yet, otherwise, how could the channel have switched so absurdly? But then he saw the young man turn around.

The young man didn’t look at him, but at Ning Xu on his back, a smile curling at the corner of his lips: “Xu Ning, or should I say, Ning Xu, we meet again. Does Jin Yusheng know what you are doing?”

He spoke in a casual tone, but the underlying feeling radiated a chilling coldness that made one shudder.

Ning Xu looked directly into the young man’s eyes and said coldly, “Qi Si, the Bizarre Incident at Qijia Village is indeed related to you. They were all your relatives, yet you cruelly killed every single one of them…”

“Isn’t that just perfect? Now I won’t have any relatives anymore, how convenient and clean.” The young man tilted his head, his smile unwavering, “I heard—you weren’t planning on leaving alive?”

Ning Xu knew in her heart that this person was a disaster-like scumbag who also took perverse pleasure in manipulating people’s minds. Whatever he did to her and Fei Zhenqi wouldn’t be surprising.

She lowered her head and remained silent, but she glanced up and saw the young man pull out his phone and make a call: “Tell me the truth, what is your relationship with Ning Xu?… Nothing, I just remembered and wanted to ask.”

Having received some answer, the young man’s smile became even more brilliant when he hung up the phone: “Good. It seems you two are useless now. You can die.”

Blood-red vines extended from various corners of the space, wrapping around the two blood-covered people in the center like blood-sucking animals, rooting themselves into their flesh through their wounds.

Fei Zhenqi let out a low cry of pain. His legs were brutally broken, and he fell forward onto the ground, his flesh melting like ice cream exposed to heat.

Ning Xu gritted her teeth, watching herself melt as well—first her limbs, then her chest and abdomen, and finally her head… In her final glance, she saw the young man listlessly scrolling through his phone screen, his languid expression carrying a faint shade of melancholy, as if he were tired of everything, lacking even the interest to watch the scene of death.

Then, seeing or thinking of something else, he started laughing breathlessly.

“Xu Yao, have your paper figures clean up. The floor is dirty.”

“Got it!”

Just now, Qi Si had called Jin Yusheng. The latter probably thought it was a test and cheerfully repeated the statement he had made before—

A relationship of coercion and being coerced; although they had interactions, they were not very close.

And since there were no further complications, there was no need to spare their lives. Killing them directly was the least troublesome option.

Therefore, Qi Si killed Ning Xu, driven by a strong, playful malice whose origin he himself did not know.

He was very curious about how Jin Yusheng would react if he found out what happened today.